‘Treme' role written especially for Goodman

April 09, 2010|By Tina Dirmann, Special to Tribune Newspapers

NEW ORLEANS — — John Goodman isn't the kind of actor who revels in the media spotlight. His default conversation is self-deprecating, his words tumbling forth in a low grumble that makes him all at once difficult to hear and curmudgeonly charming.

But mention one of his most beloved topics, and his voice booms with clarity. "For so many reasons, it has just never been an overachiever," he says.

He's speaking of New Orleans, the adopted city he's called home for more than a decade.

"Or even an achiever," he adds. "But all that indifference, corruption and greed came to a head during and after Katrina. And we can't just tread water anymore."

And for the first time in a long time, momentum is building in his city. There's a brand-new mayor. This season's Mardi Gras brought the biggest crowds since Hurricane Katrina, local authorities estimate. And, of course, the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl, the first time in the team's 43-year history.

"There's just a good spirit in the air," said Goodman, flashing a rare smile. "This is the most optimistic I've felt since I've lived here. Believe me, I wouldn't have said that a few months ago."

And yet, Goodman co-stars in the new HBO series "Treme," which forces him to look back — with no small amount of anger — at the worst moment in the city's history. Named after a working-class neighborhood, the gritty drama, which premieres Sunday, focuses on the lives of local musicians just three months after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city. Created by David Simon and Eric Overmyer, who worked as writers together on "Homicide: Life on the Street" and again on Simon's critically acclaimed series "The Wire," the series is already gaining positive chatter.

Goodman, however, acknowledges early jitters. He doesn't want the show, which marks his most recent return to series television after "Roseanne" ended 13 years ago, to be a buzz kill for locals.

"Remember, I have to live here," jokes Goodman, who was working in Los Angeles during Katrina and suffered minor personal losses.

The 57-year-old actor plays Creighton Bernette, a New Orleans transplant who moved to the city "with a romanticized ideal of what New Orleans could be," Goodman said. Bernette is a Tulane University professor, rumored to be based on the Tulane educator, and colorful personality, Ashley Morris, who passed away recently.

The character was a late add-on, with the feisty professor created after Simon and Overmyer already had their main characters in place.

"But after we looked at the original constellation for the pilot," Overmyer said, "we realized we needed another character. And we needed that person to be a Tulane professor and a sort of commentator for the city. And the first person we thought of was John."

That's because Goodman, like his character, understood the anger and outrage pouring out of locals living in Katrina's wake. "Not only is John an incredibly complicated and subtle actor," said Overmyer, "but he lives in New Orleans. So we didn't have to bring him up to speed. He feels passionately about this city, and its problems, the way we do."

Overmyer recalled one particular soliloquy that he wrote for Goodman's character, who rails against everyone, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the federal government.

"And after we ran through that speech once," Overmyer said, "John came over to me, and he said, ‘I've thought this so many times.' We were in sync. And I couldn't think of anyone else playing this role."